Anger wells in my chest, overtaking the pain in my stomach, and I stare up his blade. My fingers find the hem of my dress. Before he straightens, I grasp my dagger and lunge.
He falls to the ground, bringing me with him. I hear his ragged, gurgling breath as he gasps, and I lift myself off his body. His eyes look from me to the dagger and back. His lung is punctured, and he’s going to die a slow and painful death.
I close my eyes and twist the dagger, digging the blade deeper into his chest.
He releases one last, labored breath.
Shaking, I open my eyes and extract my dagger. Blood runs down the blade and onto my hand. I lean over and wipe it off on his vest.
Before I sheath it and pick up my sword, I look down at him. “I will save your sister.” I give him one last look of regard before I dig out the two vials and head toward the gatehouse.
THIRTY-FOUR
Two guards stand watch in each of the gatehouse towers. Ducking behind a tree, I press my back against the bark and take shallow breaths. After carefully examining my stomach wound, I found it wasn’t as deep as the pain first led me to believe, though it bleeds steadily now. I use my sword to cut a strip of material from the bottom of my dress and bandage the cut. I bite down on my lip so I don’t cry out as I pull the knot tight.
I quickly inspect my shoulder. It’s already started to clot. Sliding my sword into my sash, I hold my stomach with one arm and move out of the brush.
Glancing at the castle once, I inhale a deep breath, then latch onto the first rung leading up to the control booth. My hand trembles as I reach for the second, my stomach ablaze with pain, but I pull myself steadily up.
I don’t want to kill another, but if Sebastian still has his knights ordered to arrest me, and the guard in the tower attacks, I’m not sure what I’ll do. All I know is I need to close the gate. Maybe I can simply bash him over the head and knock him out.
Or maybe he will end me. I’m in horrible shape.
There’s no use trying to figure out what will be before it happens. I reach for the third rung and hoist myself up the ladder. Hands grasp me around my waist, pulling me down. I scream from the pain and fail to reach my sword.
“You’re ordered by the Force to surrender your weapons and come with us, Princess Zara,” the knight in a crimson vest says as he restrains my arms.
He grips my shoulder and more pain slices through me. I struggle against him only a moment before I’m thrown to the ground. My hands scrape the gravel as I slide to a stop. Another knight approaches. His large black boots stomp my way, then I feel a shock.
A V-Baton.
I fall limp, and my chest hits the dirt. Willing my limbs to listen to me, I attempt to move my body, but I can’t move anything. I know I’m shaking—convulsing as I saw the crazed man do—because the earth vibrates in my vision.
They grab me by my biceps, and pain blazes through my body as they drag me toward the castle. The ground blurs, and my mouth parts to release a rant of reasons why the gate needs to close, but even my tongue won’t obey me. Don’t they understand what’s happening? Doesn’t Sebastian understand?
No. He doesn’t understand anything. Damn Larkin.
One of the knights must notice the blood on my dress and decide I’ll be half-dead by the time he reaches his destination. He lifts me into his arms and carries me the rest of the way. My eyes roll back in my head, and I’m suddenly more tired than I’ve ever been. I think of the crazed man, shocked three times, and wonder if he survived.
I feel motion taking us upward, or it could be down. I’m not sure. The backs of my eyelids are too inviting and, though I know there’s something I should be trying to do, all I want is to sleep.
When I finally open my eyes, my head is foggy, and I’m seated in a chair in the transparent room. The weight of my situation crashes down on me and I slouch, consumed with failure. I’m right back in King Hart’s secret chamber. I haven’t gotten far in any of my endeavors.
Maybe Larkin was right. Maybe I’m simply a coward and I allowed my fear to talk me out of the mission that I’d vowed to complete. If I would’ve ridden the lift to King Hart’s chamber with Sebastian the first time he tried to take me, I could’ve ended Hart and proceeded with the plan as it should have played out.
But no, my heart still tells me I had a chance to reach Sebastian and stop it all. And maybe I’m not too late. There’s still a possibility I can convince him of what needs to be done. I have to try.
I weakly twist my stiff neck and glance around the room. King Hart is no longer hooked to the machine near his throne. He’s been removed. Blood stains the fabric, and lights on the machine hold steady, unblinking. A knight places a chair directly in front of me, and Sebastian sits down.
He snaps his fingers, and the knight in crimson walks to the corner of the room and turns a dial. The clear walls shimmer, rippling as a dark coat of gray paints them and encloses us. I can no longer see the sky. Low-hanging lanterns illuminate the shadowed room in an unnatural glow.
“There,” Sebastian says. “Now it feels as if we have some privacy.” His eyes look me up and down. Their once-golden light now dim and flat. “You still look lovely as ever in your wedding gown.”
My body is slightly numb, and my limbs weak. I don’t feel the pain in my stomach and shoulder as intensely, and my eyes widen.
“You were given a pain shot while you were out,” Sebastian says. “I couldn’t have you passing out during our chat.”
Though my head is dizzy and I’m still aware of my injuries, I manage to sit forward. “Sebastian, please listen to me.”
He holds up his hand. “Do you know what I discovered, Zara?” He lifts an eyebrow, but it’s not really a question. “My father left me a holographic recording, explaining—more thoroughly than you, I might add—about the realm.” He lowers his head and stares me directly in the eyes. “I was worried your Rebels took that from me. I’ve waited a long time for him to bestow the power to rule on me, and I understand what has to be done for the betterment of Karm. I plan to see it through.” A slanted smile hikes the side of his mouth. “My father was a genius, but I flatter myself the visionary.”
Sebastian has to be confused. “What about your ideas? What about all the things you planned to do to make this a better place for the citizens? Don’t you think those Outside deserve that same life?”
A harsh sneer crooks his lips. “There are always sacrifices, Zara.” He releases a mock sigh. “Nothing great comes without a price.”
Dread creeps over me. “But your father made that choice for others, Sebastian. We’re not given a choice in offering ourselves for the betterment of Karm,” I plead with him. “You have to know what he’s done here is wrong.”
“What I know is that my father locked himself away for years because of the Rebels.” His eyes bore through me. “He lived in fear of assassination, and look what happened! I won’t let that happen to me.” He bounds from his chair and grasps the arms of mine. I press my back into the cushion as he hovers over me. “I know what it takes to rule. Strength. Being able to do what others are too weak to accomplish.” His breath skims my lips as he sinks closer.
“This is only the anger and hurt talking,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as him. “You need time to grieve, and then you’ll know what you’re saying is false. I can hear the tremble in your voice. You don’t believe your own words.” I force myself to hold his stare. “They’re not even yours. They’re your father’s.”
Anger flares in his eyes, and I brace myself, waiting for his strike. Suddenly, his gaze softens as his eyes flick to my mouth. “I still need a queen,” he says. “I’ll do all the things I’ve planned, just on a grander scale. And who better to help me lead a retaliation against the Rebels than one of their own?”